1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a medical implant in the form of an elongated helix wherein at least one part of the helix is preformed in such a manner that it has a secondary structure which it assumes during implantation at the placement site, with said structure in turn forming at the placement site during implantation a polyhedral tertiary structure, with each face of the polyhedron being built up by a loop.
The invention, furthermore, relates to a device for the implantation of such implants in body cavities and vessels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known in the art is the use endovascular techniques for the occlusion of body cavities or vessels such as arteries, veins, fallopian tubes or vascular deformities such as, for example, vascular aneurysms. In this case, the closure element (also termed occlusion means) is usually introduced by means of an insertion aid through a catheter into the cavity to be occluded and deposited therein by means of one of various known techniques. The occlusion of the cavity finally is brought about by an embolus that forms as a result of the flow of blood slowing down in the cavity thus reduced in size or filled by the occlusion means.
It is furthermore known in the art to introduce a plurality of filamentous occlusion means, for the most part helixes or spirals of stainless steel or platinum alloys, into vascular aneurysms, with said means then assuming a random configuration and in this way occlude the aneurysm. The drawback of such a method is that the occlusion means often fill and stabilize the cavity only inadequately and it is quite difficult to foresee the behavior of said means when assuming their superimposed structures so that in the end the safety of the operation may be at risk as a ‘stiletto effect’ cannot be ruled out and may even entail wall ruptures.